At the 1988 Games in Seoul, the Soviet Union defeated the U.S.
They became members of Moscow’s bronze, silver, and gold medal winning teams at every Summer Olympics between 19 (except '84). Basketball didn’t lose its luster as the most popular sport, but Lithuanians were now playing for Soviet greatness, not for their own. Towards the end of the war, Russian tanks rolled into Lithuania and the tiny nation of 3 million was absorbed into the USSR. Frank Lubin, "grandfather of Lithuanian basketball", played for UCLA and then led the old country to their European title just months before the outbreak of WWII. The Baltic state won the European Basketball Championship twice, in 19. Lithuania had enjoyed a proud and accomplished basketball tradition. But even fewer predicted that a newly-freed nation out of the old Soviet bloc would rise to become a medal contender.īUY- Autographed Sarunas Marciulionis rookie card That year, few expected Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and the rest of the NBA “Dream Team” not to win gold. Their story was a magical tale of tie-dyes, basketball glory, and the birth of a new nation. In 1992, the iconic Grateful Dead music band helped sponsor Lithuania’s national basketball team, a talented but financially-strapped squad that went on to win bronze at the Barcelona Olympics.
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